Sunday, April 17, 2016

Brotherhood Spotlight: Cesar Rufino

Brothers,

To further foster the connection between the many esteemed alumni of Tri-Kappa and the current undergraduates, we have decided to bring back the "Brotherhood Spotlight", a periodic post in which an undergraduate brother shares his experiences, viewpoints, and the role of Tri-Kap in his life. We hope these posts will allow the potential for connection between alumni and undergraduates while yielding a strong sense of the diverse character of the brotherhood of which we are extremely proud. Enjoy.

YiK,

Jeff Lang, VP

Brothers,

I hope this post finds you all well, no matter where you are. My name is Cesar Rufino and I am a member of the Class of 2018 hailing from Chicago, Illinois. Specifically, I lived in Roger’s Park for the first 18 years of my life, so transitioning to the rural life of Dartmouth was definitely a struggle. I am a Mexican-American first-generation student, and the eldest of 4. I have a 17-year-old sister, a 12-year-old brother, and an 8-year-old brother. As a child, my life was definitely different from those of my siblings, for I was part of my parents’ own transition to life in the United States; they immigrated to this country when they were teenagers. For example, I did not play any organized sports until high school. Fortunately, I cherished my time, and I was Varsity captain of both the Cross Country and Track teams; I ended up qualifying for the state finals in both sports a combined 4 times.

I am currently one of the Tri-Kap’s three rush chairs and hope to continue to be involved in the house. Outside of Tri-Kap, I am a First-Year Peer Mentor, a Spanish tutor, and am currently involved in the Rocky Global Leadership Program. Most importantly, I have been serving on QuestBridge’s National Ambassador Executive Board for the past 10 months. QuestBridge is a scholarship program that aims to match students from underprivileged backgrounds with elite postsecondary institutions; I was fortunate enough to receive a very generous offer from Dartmouth and ease any financial burden on my father, who is a local residential painter in Chicago. Now, while on the board, I aim to increase applicant numbers and show high school students that there is no ceiling to what they can achieve.

My ultimate goal in life is to provide for my family. They have supported each and every endeavor of mine up to this point, something I am eternally thankful for. On a larger scale, I am currently studying Government because I am very interested in immigration, urban, and youth policy. I want to be able to go back to the city of Chicago and provide for those that need assistance as I did.

Family is the most important thing to me. I always try my best to go home over interim and see my siblings. Whenever I am back in Chicago, I serve as a soccer coach for my 12-year-old brother’s youth squad. I have been a sporadic youth soccer coach for five years now, and hope to continue supporting my siblings in any way possible. Coming to Dartmouth was extremely emotional for me, for I was leaving the foundation and people that gave me strength every day of my young life. On campus, my freshman year was a dark one. However, Tri-Kap eventually became my family away from home and I am proud to consider every one of my brothers as part of the system that motivates me every day. Now, in a new Kappa lodge, our fraternity has the opportunity to grow stronger than ever. I am proud to be a part of this process and look to give everything that I have to the brotherhood for years to come.

Please, do not hesitate to reach out to me if you would ever like to have a conversation, are up on campus, or visit Chicago. My mom and I will cook you up a mean meal.